Electric ironing machine

ABSTRACT

An electric ironer comprises a stationary iron pad and a rotatable ironing roller operable into engagement with and retraction from said pad. The roller-operating mechanism comprises a torsion rod mounted upon the frame of the machine and serving as a rotating axis for a pivot tube bridging a pair of parallel oscillating arms to which is further connected a supporting tube carrying an electric driving motor and gearbox and rotatively supporting the ironing roller enclosing the motor and gearbox. The latter has two output shafts selectively rotatable depending upon the direction of rotation of the motor, one of said shafts being operably connected with the ironing roller and the other shaft having a crank and pin engaging a guide slot in an abutment lever secured to one end of the torsion rod whose opposite end is rotatable by a tensioning lever cooperating with a cam for the adjustment of the torsion bias of the rod and in turn of the ironing pressure. The rotation of the motor in one direction causes operation of the roller aggregate via said levers into engagement with and retraction from the ironing pad and rotation of the motor in the opposite direction drives the roller during the ironing operations.

United States Patent f 72] Inventor Hans Buchner Karlsruhe-Durlach,Germany [21] Appl. No. 3,876 [22] Filed Jan. 19, 1970 [45] Patented Aug.17, 1971 [73] Assignee G. M. Piaff AG Kaiserlauternpfalz, Germany [32]Priority Jan. 21,1969 [33] Germany 3 l] G 69 02 061 [541 ELECTRICIRONING MACHINE 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. CI 38/59 [5 l Int. Cl D06f 63/00, D06f 65/08 [50] FieldofSem-ch 38/58,59, 60, 61

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,789,378 4/1957 Barnes38/59 2,851,800 9/l958 Schrader 38/59 3,134,181 5/1964 Schrader.. 38/593,184,870 5/1965 Buchner 38/59 Primary Examiner-Jordan FranklinAssistant Examiner-George Vv Larkin AtlorneyGreene & Durr ABSTRACT: Anelectric ironer comprises a stationary iron pad and a rotatable ironingroller operable into engagement with and retraction from said pad. Theroller-operating mechanism comprises a torsion rod mounted upon theframe of the machine and serving as a rotating axis for a pivot tubebridging a pair of parallel oscillating arms to which is furtherconnected a supporting tube carrying an electric driving motor andgearbox and rotatively supporting the ironing roller enclosing the motorand gearbox. The latter has two output shafts selectively rotatabledepending upon the direction of rotation of the motor, one of saidshafts being operably connected with the ironing roller and the othershaft having a crank and pin engaging a guide slot in an abutment leversecured to one end of the torsion rod whose opposite end is rotatable bya tensioning lever cooperating with a cam for the adjustment of thetorsion bias of the rod and in turn of the ironing pressure. Therotation of the motor in one direction causes operation of the rolleraggregate via said levers into engagement with and retraction from theironing pad and rotation of the motor in the opposite direction drivesthe roller during the ironing operations.

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SHEEY 3 [1F 3 XNVENTOR HANS ,9 u'cHA/EQ BY lmeA 24T A r 7 8 NE YELECTRIC IRONING MACHINE The present invention relates to an electricironing machine of the type comprising a heatable ironing pad and anironing or mangling roller operable into resilient pressure engagementwith said pad, said roller being rotatably supported by the ends of apair of oscillating arms rotatively mounted in the frame of the machineand being connected by a further tube rotatively supporting the rollerand carrying the driving motor and gear mechanism enclosed thereby forrotation and operation of the roller aggregate towards and away fromsaid pad, respectively.

In so-called table ironers of the foregoing general type, the mountingof the motor and gear mechanism inside the ironing roller has theadvantage of providing adequate stacking space for the ironing goodsemerging from between said roller and the ironing pad.

Furthermore, in known ironing machines of this type, pairs of abutmentlevers are provided at both ends of the roller-supporting tube, saidlevers being fitted with slide bushes which serve as abutments forcylindrical pins upon the pressure-applying operating shaft. The latteris driven by the motor via a gearbox, a slip coupling and a pair of gearsegments. Since the roller-supporting tube, together with the pairs ofabutment levers, remain stationary during the rotation of the rolleraggregate, the latter is raised and lowered together with thepressure-applying shaft depending on the direction of rotation of themotor and due to the engagement of the cylindrical pins of the shaft,joumaled in the gearbox, with said bushes.

Ironing pressure in machines of this type depends upon the antifrictioncoating of the slip coupling, as well as on the torque of the drivingmotor. This results in a decrease of the pressure in a known manner withincreased use and wear of said coating, and in turn reduces efficiencywith increasing life of the ironer.

The use of a slip coupling in ironing machines of the known type isnecessary, foremost on account of the rigid mounting of the abutmentlevers, to avoid fracture or destruction of the machine by the increasedironing pressure caused by thickness variations of the ironing goods.

In order to adapt such a machine to the ironing goods, it is customaryto resiliently support the ironing pad by means of springs interposedtherebetween and its support. This floating" arrangement of the padgreatly interferes with the proper insertion of the ironing goods.

Finally, where it is desired to adjust the ironing pressure in the knownmachines, it is necessary to disassemble and readjust the slip coupling.Such a procedure is prohibitive in the case of household ironingmachines.

Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is theprovision of an improved ironing machine of the referred to type whichis substantially devoid of the foregoing and related disadvantages anddrawbacks inherent in the prior art ironing devices; which machine isboth simple and compact in construction; which will enable the ironingpressure to be adjusted closely and accurately and without the removalor disassembly of parts of the machine; which will enable the ironingroller to be retracted manually in case of power-failures and otheremergencies; and which may be operated easily and reliably for use withironing goods of different thicknesses and varying types.

With the foregoing objects in view, the invention involves generally theprovision of a torsion rod rotatably mounted upon the frame of theironing machine and serving as rotating axis for a pivot tube connectedto a pair of parallel oscillating arms which carry the ironing rolleraggregate operable to provide engagement of the roller with andretraction from a heatable stationary ironing pad. For this purpose, theironing roller is rotatably supported, via a pair of supporting spiderscarrying bearing rollers, by a further supporting' tube bridging saidoscillating arms and, furthermore, carrying the driving motor andautomatic gearbox, the latter having a pair of output shafts beingselectively rotatable depending upon the direction of rotation of saidmotor. One of the output shafts of the gearbox serves to rotate theironing roller via a pinion and internal gear carried by said roller andthe remaining output shaft of the gearbox serves to operate the rolleraggregate towards and away from the heating pad of the ironer. For thispurpose, the last-mentioned output shaft has a crank and pin engaging aguide slot in an abutment lever secured to one end of the torsion rod,to support the roller aggregate and to rotate the same about said rodvia the oscillating lever for engagement with, and retraction from theironing pad. The opposite end of the torsion rod is rotativelyadjustably mounted for the control of the torsion or bias of the rod andin turn, of the ironing pressure, to suit varying types and thicknessesof goods to be ironed. Further means are provided for manual retractionof the ironing roller, to prevent singeing of the goods during powerfailure and other emergencies.

By the utilization of a torsion rod according to the invention,resilient mounting of the ironing pad is dispensed with, and the rolleraggregate is enabled, during the passage of thickened portions of theironing goods through the ironer, to yield in the upward direction dueto the engagement of the crank of the operating shaft with the abutmentlever connected to one end of the torsion rod. Besides, the adjustableabutment, in the form of a cam cooperating with the lever at theopposite end of the rod, enables a simple and reliable variation of thetorsion and in turn of ironing pressure.

The use of a crank in conjunction with the abutment lever subject to thetorsion or bias of the torsion rod as pressure-applying means makes it,furthermore, possible to more closely control or define the nonuse ofretracted position of the aggregate, as well as to influence therelaxation of the torsion rod by the driving arm of the crank incooperation with sections of varying steepness of the guide slot in theabutment lever.

According to an improved feature of the invention, the form of the guideslot is so designed, that an increased load is imparted upon the motorduring the final phase of the retracting movement, to reduce the idlerun upon disconnection of the motor in the retracted position. At thesame time, it is possible to affect, by the shape of the slot, the speedof relaxation of the torsion rod, to avoid a jerky retraction of theroller aggregate from the ironing pad.

The invention, both as to the foregoing and ancillary objects as well asnovel aspects thereof, will be better understood from the followingdetailed description of a preferred practical embodiment, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings forming part of thisdisclosure and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the ironer;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, shown partly in section, of the rolleraggregate including the pressure-applying mechanism, the quick liftingdevice and means for controlling the ironing pressure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the torsion rod with its tensioning andabutment layers;

FIG. 4-is a sectional view of the gearbox mounted within the ironingroller; and

FIG. 5 shows a simplified electric wiring diagram of the ironeraccording to the preceding figures.

Like reference numerals denote like parts in the different views of thedrawings.

Mounted upon the frame or baseplate 1, FIG. 1, of the ironing machine isan upright 2 which supports a stationery, curved and heatable ironingpad 3, fitted with a work feeding plate or table 4.

Disposed opposite to the upright 2 and secured to the base 1, is a pairof spaced angular-shaped standards 5 and 6, being of square tubularcross section or the like and terminating in a pair of upper bearingforks 7 and 8 in which is journaled a torsion bar or rod 9, (see alsoFIG. 3). Rotatably mounted upon the torsion bar 9 by means of a pivottube 10 is a pair of oscillating arms 11 and I2, rigidly connected bysaid tube and to which is'in turn secured, by means of screws 13, thesupporting tube 16, FIGS. 2 and 4, of a hollow cylindrical ironing ormangling roller 17, tube 16 serving to further support a motor 14 towhich is attached a gearbox 15. The inner metallic cylinder 18 of theroller 17 is rotatably supported at both its ends by rollers 19supported by pins 41, FIG. 4, which are disposed at the ends of a pairof star-shaped supports or spiders 40 on tube 16, only one of which isshown in FIG. 4. The ironing roller 17 is rotated by a pinion 20 mountedupon a shaft 21 of the gearbox l and meshing with an internal gear 22upon the cylinder 18.

The pressure-applying and operating mechanism of the ironer includes afurther operating shaft 23 journaled in the gearbox and the oscillatingarm 11, said shaft 23 terminating in a crank 24 which has a crankpin 25supporting a roller 26 engaging a guide slot 27 consisting of sectionsof varying steepness and provided in a lever 28 fast upon one end of thetorsion rod 9, said lever serving as an abutment for the crank 24 and inturn the pressure-applying shaft 23 of the roller aggregate duringoperation of the latter towards and away from the pad 3.

As more clearly shown in FIG. 4, the end of the driving shaft of themotor 14 projecting into the gearbox 15 carries a worm 42 adapted tocooperate with a steep-toothed counter wheel 43 secured to a couplingsleeve 44. The coupling sleeve 44 is axially slidably supported by across-shaft secured in the gearbox 15. Both ends of the sleeve 44 arefitted with unidirectional coupling means, consisting, in the exampleillustrated, of oppositely acting oblique coupling teeth 46, 47effective in producing a coupling in a single direction of rotationonly. The coupling sleeve 44, with its teeth 46 is displaceable, in onedirection of rotation of the motor 14, into engagement withcorresponding coupling teeth 48 provided upon the edge of the hub of anaxially nondisplaceable worm 49 rotatably mounted upon the cross-shaft45. Worm 49 meshes with a worm gear 50 shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4and which is secured to the output shaft 21 in the gearbox 15. Asalready described, shaft 21 carries at its front end, the pinion 20cooperating with the internal gear 22.

Similarly, in the opposite direction of rotation of the motor 14, thecoupling sleeve 44 with its teeth 47 displaceably engages correspondingteeth 51 disposed upon the front end of the hub of a worm 52 rotatably,but nonaxially displaceably mounted upon the cross-shaft 45. Worm 52meshes with a worm wheel 53 indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 4 andaffixed to the operating shaft 23, joumaled in the gearbox 15 andoscillating arm 11, FIG. 2. There is thus provided an automaticgearshift mechanism depending upon the direction of rotation of themotor 14, in that the coupling sleeve 44 is axially displaced to engage,in one direction of the motor 14, the coupling teeth 48 of the worm 49for the rotation of the ironing roller 17 and that, in the oppositedirection of rotation of the motor 14, said sleeve is axially displacedto engage the coupling teeth 51 of the worm 52 driving the rolleraggregate operating shaft 23, respectively. 1

The lever 28 serving as abutment for the operating shaft 23 is rotatablywithin predetermined limits to enable compensation of the ironingpressure due to variations of the thickness of the ironing goods passingbetween the roller 17 and pad 3. For this purpose, the abutment lever 28is provided with a bore 29 into which projects an eccentric bolt or stop30 adjustably mounted in the fork 7 of the standard 5.

Secured to the opposite end of the torsion rod 9 is a tension lever 31which cooperates with the circumference of an eccentric 32 mounted upona shaft 33 which is rotatably supported in the fork 8 of the standard 6.Shaft 33 has a hand lever 34 terminating in a spherical knob 35.

The oscillating arm 12 has an extension 36 forming an abutment surface37 disposed in the path of the circumference of the eccentric 32, thelatter engaging said surface after rotation of the eccentric manually inthe direction H for the retraction of the roller aggregate from the pad3, as described in greater detail hereafter.

The eccentric 32 is fitted with a flat braking spring 38 which has oneend secured in a split bolt 39 upon the oscillating arm 12 and whichextends at first arc-fashion from its securing point in the (rolleraggregate) retracting direction H of and towards the eccentric 32 andsubsequently extends in the direction opposite to the arrow H andengages, with its free end, the circumference of the eccentric 32.

The electric control device of the ironer comprises a threestep electricswitch 54, FIG. 5, including a contact bridge 58 carrying three mutuallyisolated contacts 55, 56, 57, and contact rails 5966 disposed in thepath of movement of said contacts, a changeover switch 67 having abridging contact 68, a terminal 69 and a pair of contacts 70, 71, withthe contact 68 normally closing the contact 70, and a normally openinterrupting switch 72 having a contact bridge 73 and a pair of contacts74 and 75. The switches 67 and 72 are mounted upon the oscillating arm Il in such a manner as to cause the actuating pins of the bridgingcontacts 68 and 73 to cooperate with the upper portion of the lever 28during rotation of the ironing roller aggregate, in the manner to bedescribed in greater detail hereafter.

The driving motor 14 of the ironer shown, is a conventional reversiblesingle-phase induction motor, having terminals 76, 77 and 78, acapacitor 79 being connected between the terminals 77 and 78. Terminal76 is connected through a lead 80 to one pole of an alternating currentsource 81 whose other pole is connected through a lead 82 to theterminal 69 of the changeover switch 67. Connected respectively betweenterminals 76, 77 and 76, 78, are the motor windings 83 and 84.

The contacts 70 and 74 of the switches 67 and 72 are connected through alead 85 which is in turn connected through a lead 86 to the contacts 61and 65 of the switch 54.

The terminal 77 of the motor 14 is further connected through a lead 87to the contact 75 of the switch 72, on the one hand, and through afurther lead 88 to the contacts 59, 62 and 66 of the switch 54, on theother hand. Terminal 78 of the motor 14 is connected through a lead 89to the contact 64 of switch 54, and finally the contact rails 60 and 63of the switch 54 are connected through a lead 90 to the contact 71 ofthe changeover switch 67.

Operation of the three-step switch 54, or of its contact bridge 58, iseffected, in the example shown, by means of a foot pedal 91 operablyconnected to said bridge and rotatably mounted upon a baseplate 92. Inthe normal or nonuse position, the pedal 91 is urged to a rest positionshown in FIG. 5, by the action of compression spring 93, whereby tocause the bridge 58 of the switch 54 to assume a normal or staringposition denoted as I in FIG. 5. During operation, the switch 54 iscontrolled by the pedal 91 between position I and a pair of operatingpositions II and III, in the manner as will become further apparent fromthe following description of the operation of the ironer shown anddescribed in the foregoing.

Starting with the rest or retracted position of the ironing roller 17,as shown by FIGS. 1, 2 and S, the rails 59 and 60 are bridged by thecontact 56 of the bridge 58 (switching position I), whereby, with theremaining switches being in the position as shown by FIG. 5, operationof the ironer is as follows.

The ironing pressure required for the particular ironing goods, beingdependent upon the bias of the torsion rod 9, is adjusted by means ofthe operating lever 34 of the eccentric 32, which cooperates with thetensioning lever 31 of the rod 9, whereby the bore 29 of the abutmentlever 28 at first engages the eccentric stop 30 to result in theincrease of the bias of the rod 9, depending upon the angle of rotationof the lever 34. More particularly, rotation of the eccentric 32 in thedirection of the arrow S, FIG. 2, results in increased bias of the rod 9and rotation, in the direction of the arrow l-l reduces the bias ortorsion of said rod, respectively. Suitable indicating indicia may beprovided to facilitate the adjustment of the bias of the torsion rod 9or ironing pressure, respectively.

Adjustment of the angular position of the eccentric stop 30 enables afurther fine adjustment of the bias of the rod 9 or ironing pressure,respectively.

In order to operate the roller aggregate into pressure en- 7 gagementwith the heatable pad 3, the switch 54 is operated to its position II bydepression of the foot pedal 91 or bridge 58, respectively. In theswitching position II, the rails 61, 62 and 63, 64 are bridged by thecontacts 55 and 57, respectively of the bridge 58. As a consequence, thewinding 83 of the motor 14 is energized through a circuit traced asfollows: lead 82- terminal 69-bridging contact 68 of switch 67contact70- lead 86-rails 61, 62 conductively connected by contact 55- leads 88and 87-winding 83terminal 76lead 80terminal 77. As a consequence, themotor 14 is started to rotate in one direction, whereby, by virtue ofthe teeth of the steeptoothed wheel 43 cooperating with worm 42 upon thedrive shaft of the motor 14, there results an axial force causing thecoupling sleeve 44, carrying the wheel 43, to be displaced upon thecross-shaft 45, in such a manner as to effect coupling connection of theteeth 47 with the teeth 51 of the worm 52, to thereby establish drivingconnection, via the worm 52, between the motor 14 and the operatingshaft 23 and crank 24, 25, 26. Due to the engagement of the driven arm25, 26 of the crank 24 with the guide slot 27 of the lever 28, acting asa stationary abutment and to the mounting of the operating shaft 23 inthe gearbox and oscillating arm 11, the entire roller aggregateincluding the oscillating arms 11 and 12 is rotated about the torsionrod 9 as rotating axis supported in the forks 7, 8 of the standards 5,6, whereby to operate the roller 17 towards and into pressure engagementwith the pad 3.

During this movement, the bridging contact 73 through its actuating pin,engages the contacts 74, 75 of the interrupting switch 72. As soon asthe operative or pressure position has been reached by the roller 17,the actuating pin of the'bridging contact 68 of the changeover switch67, normally closing the contact 70, cooperates with the abutment lever28 to result in the operation of the changeover switch 67 and to therebycause disconnection of the motor 14 and stoppage of the roller aggregatein the engaged or ironing position, by contact 68 now engaging thebridging contact 71. Subsequently, the motor, due to the closing ofcontact 71 by the bridging contact 68 of the changeover switch 67, isswitched to the opposite direction of rotation by the establishment ofan energizing circuit for the reverse winding 84 being traced asfollows: lead 82terminal 69-bridging contact 68contact 7l-lead90-contact 62contact 67-contact 64lead 89and terminal 78-winding84-terminal 76-lead 80.

With the motor 14 rotating in the opposite direction, the

axial force acting upon toothed wheel 43 and coupling sleeve 44 now hasthe effect of displacing the coupling sleeve 44 upon the cross-shaft 45in such a manner as to cause the teeth 46 to engage the teeth 48 uponthe front edge of the worm 49. As a consequence, the worm gear 50cooperating with the worm 49 drives the shaft 21 journaled in thegearbox 15, resulting thereby in the rotation of the roller 17 via thepinion 20 and gear 22.

If it is desired, for the pressing of the ironing goods, to interruptthe rotation of the roller 17, the contact bridge 58 of the switch 54 isoperated to its position III by further depression of the pedal 91, inwhich position only contacts 65 and 66 are conductively connected by thecontact 55 of the bridge 58, while the connection between contacts 63and 64 is interrupted, to result in the disconnection of the motor 14.

in order to resume the ironing operation or rotation of the roller 17,the bridge 58 of the switch 54 is returned to the II position by releaseof the pedal 91 being subjected to the action of the spring 93, in whichposition rails 61, 62 and 63, 64 are again conductively connected by thecontacts 55 and 57, respectively, resulting in the restarting of themotor in the original direction for continuation of the ironingoperation.

During the passage of ironing goods of varying thickness between theroller 17 and the pad 3, the entire roller aggregate is enabled to yieldin the upward direction or away from the pad 3 to an extent determinedor limited by the position of the eccentric stop 30 traversing the bore29 in the fork 7 of the standard 5.

In order to avoid, in the course of power failure or other disturbance,a singeing of the ironing goods by the pad 3, the roller aggregate maybe lifted or retracted manually be means of the lever 34 connected tothe eccentric 32.

For the latter purpose, all that is necessary is to rotate the eccentric32 in the direction of the arrow H by the aid of the lever 34. During arotation of about 180, at first the torsion rod 9 is relaxed, whereuponthe eccentric 32 engages the surface 37 of the extension 36 andcontinued rotation results in the lifting or retraction of the rolleraggregate from the pad 3, whereby at first the bridging contact 68 ofthe changeover switch 67 engages the contact 70 and subsequently thecontacts 74, 75 of the disconnecting switch 72 are opened by engagementof the actuating pin of the bridging contact 73 by the abutment lever28.

During the rotation of the eccentric 32 in the direction of the arrow H,the braking spring 38, secured in the bolt 39 upon the arm 12, becomingdistorted by virtue of its shape and mounting, exerts a braking forceupon the eccentric 32 which is greater than the braking force actingupon the eccentric in the opposite direction (S). The advantage of thisaction of the spring 38 is due to the fact that the eccentric 32 isbraked practically in the lifting or retracting direction of theaggregate in which the torsion rod 9 imparts a torque upon the lever 31in the direction of the arrow H which, in the absence of the brakingaction of the spring 38, results in jerky or recoillike rotation of theeccentric 32.

In order to resume the ironing operation after removal of thedisturbance, the eccentric 32 is returned to the tensioning position ofthe rods, whereby the roller aggregate is rotated to its engagedposition with the pad 3 and the torsion rod 9 rebiased or tensioned. Themotor 14 is then restarted for the operation of the roller 17- switchingposition ll of the contact bridge 58-and the ironing operation may becontinued.

At the completion of an ironing operation, the pedal 91 is released, toreturn, as a result of the action of the spring 93, to its rest positionand to operate the switch 54 to the position l of its contact bridge 58.Since at first the contacts 74 and 75 of the disconnecting switch 72 areclosed in the engaged position of the roller aggregate, the motor 14, inthe switching position I with the contacts 59, 60 connected by thecontact 56 and with the bridging contact 68 of the changeover switchengaging the contact 71, is restarted by the establishment of a circuittraced as follows: lead 82-terminal 69-bridging contact 68-contact71lead 9-contacts 59, 60 connected by contact 56leads 87 and 88terminal77. As a consequence, the motor is started in a direction of rotation inwhich the teeth 47 of the coupling sleeve 44 engage the teeth 51 of worm52, to drive the operating shaft 23 by the worm gear 53 cooperating withworm 52. As a consequence and due to the engagement of the driven arm25, 26 of the crank 24 with the abutment lever 28 and the mounting ofthe operating shaft 23 and the gearbox 15 in the oscillating arm 11, theroller aggregate is lifted from the pad 3 and retracted to its startingor nonuse position. During this retracting movement, at first thebridging contact 68 of the changeover switch 67 engages the contact 70,whereby to establish a motor-operating circuit traced as follows: lead82terminal 69-bridging contact 68-contact 70 of changeover switch67-lead 85-contacts 74 and 75 of changeover switch 72 connected bybridging contact 72lead 87-terrninal 77-winding 83-lead 80. Afterreaching of the retracted position of the roller aggregate and resultantengagement of the actuating pin of the bridging contact 73 of thedisconnecting switch 72 by the abutment lever 28, contact 74 and 75 areopened, to result in the disconnection of the motor in the retractedposition of the roller aggregate.

During the final phase of the retracting movement, the driven arm 25, 26of the crank 24 engages a portion of increased steepness of the guideslot 27 in the abutment lever 28. As a consequence, the load on themotor is increased above the normal load shortly before the roller 17reaches its retracted position thereby reducing the idle run upondisconnection. ln thismanner, the retracted position of the rolleraggregate may be defined closely and accurately. By a proper choice ofthe shape of the guide slot, it is furthermore possible to control therelaxation of the torsion rod 9.

In the foregoing, the invention has been described in reference to aspecific exemplary device or embodiment. It will be evident however thatvariations and modifications, as well as the substitution of equivalentparts or elements for those shown for illustration, may be made withoutdeparting from the broader scope and spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An electric ironing machine comprising in combination:

a frame,

an ironing pad fixedly supported by said frame,

a torsion rod rotatively mounted upon said frame,

an ironing roller aggregate operable towards and away from said padincluding a. a pivot tube mounted upon said rod and having connectedthereto a pair of parallel oscillating arms,

b. a supporting tube bridging said arms,

c. an ironing roller concentric with and rotatively supported by saidsupporting tube,

d. electric motor drive means having a pair of selectively rotatableoutput shafts and mounted upon said supporting tube inside said roller,and

e. motion-transmitting means operably connecting one of said outputshafts with said roller, to rotate the same in its position ofengagement with said pad,

5. an abutment lever having a guide slot and secured to one end ofsaidrod,

6. a crank upon said output shaft having a crankpin engaging said slot,and

7. adjusting means to rotate the opposite end of said rod, to

vary the torsion bias,

. whereby to rotate said aggregate about said rod as pivot axis intoengagement of said roller with and retraction from said pad by saidguide slot acting as abutment therefore.

2. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electric drivemeans consists of a reversible motor and a gear drive connected theretohaving a pair of output shafts, and automatic coupling means betweensaid drive and said motor, to selectively rotate one of said shafts inone direction and to rotate the other shaft in the opposite direction ofrotation of said motor.

3. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 1, comprising a pair ofsupporting spiders having a plurality of arms mounted upon opposite endsof said supporting tube, friction rollers mounted on the arms of saidsupporting spiders, said ironing roller being supported by said frictionrollers.

4. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 1, including an adjustableeccentric stop mounted upon said frame and passing through a bore ofsaid abutment lever.

5. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adjustingmeans consists of a cam rotatively mounted upon said frame and atensioning lever connected to said rod and engaging the circumference ofsaid cam, to increase the torsion bias of said rod by rotation of saidcam in a first direction and to decrease said bias by rotation of saidcam in a second opposite direction, respectively,

6. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 5, including an operatinglever for said cam and an abutment therefor upon the adjoiningoscillating arm for manually retracting the roller aggregate byoperation in said second direction to engage said abutment.

7. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 6, including a braking springeffective upon said cam during rotation in said second direction, toeffect a smooth manual retraction of said aggregate from said pad.

1. An electric ironing machine comprising in combination:
 1. a frame, 2.an ironing pad fixedly sUpported by said frame,
 3. a torsion rodrotatively mounted upon said frame,
 4. an ironing roller aggregateoperable towards and away from said pad including a. a pivot tubemounted upon said rod and having connected thereto a pair of paralleloscillating arms, b. a supporting tube bridging said arms, c. an ironingroller concentric with and rotatively supported by said supporting tube,d. electric motor drive means having a pair of selectively rotatableoutput shafts and mounted upon said supporting tube inside said roller,and e. motion-transmitting means operably connecting one of said outputshafts with said roller, to rotate the same in its position ofengagement with said pad,
 5. an abutment lever having a guide slot andsecured to one end of said rod,
 6. a crank upon said output shaft havinga crankpin engaging said slot, and
 7. adjusting means to rotate theopposite end of said rod, to vary the torsion bias,
 8. whereby to rotatesaid aggregate about said rod as pivot axis into engagement of saidroller with and retraction from said pad by said guide slot acting asabutment therefore.
 2. an ironing pad fixedly sUpported by said frame,2. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electric drivemeans consists of a reversible motor and a gear drive connected theretohaving a pair of output shafts, and automatic coupling means betweensaid drive and said motor, to selectively rotate one of said shafts inone direction and to rotate the other shaft in the opposite direction ofrotation of said motor.
 3. a torsion rod rotatively mounted upon saidframe,
 3. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 1, comprising a pair ofsupporting spiders having a plurality of arms mounted upon opposite endsof said supporting tube, friction rollers mounted on the arms of saidsupporting spiders, said ironing roller being supported by said frictionrollers.
 4. an ironing roller aggregate operable towards and away fromsaid pad including a. a pivot tube mounted upon said rod and havingconnected thereto a pair of parallel oscillating arms, b. a supportingtube bridging said arms, c. an ironing roller concentric with androtatively supported by said supporting tube, d. electric motor drivemeans having a pair of selectively rotatable output shafts and mountedupon said supporting tube inside said roller, and e. motion-transmittingmeans operably connecting one of said output shafts with said roller, torotate the same in its position of engagement with said pad,
 4. Anironing machine as claimed in claim 1, including an adjustable eccentricstop mounted upon said frame and passing through a bore of said abutmentlever.
 5. an abutment lever having a guide slot and secured to one endof said rod,
 5. An ironing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidadjusting means consists of a cam rotatively mounted upon said frame anda tensioning lever connected to said rod and engaging the circumferenceof said cam, to increase the torsion bias of said rod by rotation ofsaid cam in a first direction and to decrease said bias by rotation ofsaid cam in a second opposite direction, respectively.
 6. An ironingmachine as claimed in claim 5, including an operating lever for said camand an abutment therefor upon the adjoining oscillating arm for manuallyretracting the roller aggregate by operation in said second direction toengage said abutment.
 6. a crank upon said output shaft having acrankpin engaging said slot, and
 7. adjusting means to rotate theopposite end of said rod, to vary the torsion bias,
 7. An ironingmachine as claimed in claim 6, including a braking spring effective uponsaid cam during rotation in said second direction, to effect a smoothmanual retraction of said aggregate from said pad.
 8. whereby to rotatesaid aggregate about said rod as pivot axis into engagement of saidroller with and retraction from said pad by said guide slot acting asabutment therefore.